The world’s second-largest private equity fund, the Carlyle Group, which ranks India as the most attractive global investment destination has emerged as the front-runner to buy out the stakes of three PE investors in Bharat Biotech which is working on two vaccine candidates to combat the deadly Zika virus, two sources familiar with ongoing negotiations told ET NOW on the condition of anonymity.
The Hyderabad headquartered biotechnology firm founded by Indian scientist Krishna Ella counts domestic private equity fund ICICI Ventures, International Finance Corp, the global investment arm of the World Bank and Subhkam Ventures as its investors.
“These three investors are looking to exit Bharat Biotech after almost a decade and Carlyle has emerged as the sole suitor for their collective stake of 30% post the due diligence process. Rival TPG which had expressed interest earlier has dropped out of the race,”said an individual familiar with the deal.
“The commercial outlook of the existing products and product pipeline of Bharat Biotech will play a key role in determining the final valuations of the transaction”, he added. An ET NOW reports dated February 4th, 2016 had pegged the potential valuation of the company between Rs 1200-Rs 1500 crores prior to the completion of the due diligence.
” Yes, TPG & the other private equity players are not in the race anymore for Bharat Biotech. A deal may or may not materialize depending on how Carlyle wants to proceed from here ,” added the second source cited above.
ICICI Ventures, Carlyle, and TPG declined to comment in response to emailed queries from ET NOW . ET NOW is awaiting responses from Bharat Biotech, IFC, and Subhkam Ventures.
” In recent times, the understanding of the sector and its potential has seen improvement which is reflected in the growing interest and investment in biotech,” says Utkarsh Palnitkar, Partner & National Head – Life Sciences Practices, KPMG India.
The WHO has declared the outbreak of the mosquito-borne Zika virus as a global health emergency. Bharat Biotech undertakes transnational research in the area of molecular biology, microbiology, virology, immunology, biochemistry, clinical research and industrial biotechnology. According to the company website, the company holds a portfolio of 50 patents and has delivered over 2 billion doses of vaccines in over 65 countries.
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Source: Economic Times
